SRI Ventures Announces New Spin-out, Confidencial, to Secure Sensitive Information and Collaboration for Distributed Enterprises

Confidencial Secures Seed Funding to Add Privacy-preserving Cryptographic
Technologies to Existing Business Applications

MENLO PARK, Calif., June 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SRI Ventures, the corporate venture arm of SRI International, today announced the launch of its spin-out company, Confidencial, a startup providing privacy-enhancing technologies to secure sensitive information within existing business applications. Distributed enterprises that rely on multiple information touchpoints will be able to selectively block sensitive information (e.g, intellectual property, personal and financial details) seamlessly within MS Office and Google Workspace with Confidencial.

Confidencial's core technologies are rooted in two DARPA programs, Brandeis and RACE. The programs aim to harden security and privacy for various types of data and information used in distributed infrastructure, online collaboration and business workflows and messaging applications. Confidencial also leverages natural language processing technologies from SRI to automate application of protection techniques.

"Confidencial is leveraging SRI's cybersecurity and automation technologies to provide urgently needed encryption and controls for distributed enterprises across multiple sectors," said Todd Stavish, vice president of SRI Ventures. Enterprises deal with an abundance of sensitive information and intellectual property, especially as they move toward an increasingly distributed mode of operation that relies on cloud-based infrastructure and remote work.

Confidencial's platform can be automatically deployed to protect collaborative workflows today. "The platform utilizes current cryptographic standards to be immediately applicable, but is designed to be agile and evolve with an enterprise as such standards become quantum-safe," said Karim Eldefrawy, co-founder and CTO, and a key inventor of the underlying technologies in his previous role as a principal computer scientist at SRI.

"One of the leading causes of cyber threats is the improper exposure of proprietary data, whether inadvertently, intentionally or due to breaches," said Razmik Abnous, co-founder and CEO. "By using SRI's natural language processing and our cryptographic techniques, we can automatically identify and protect sensitive information."

Confidencial has completed an oversubscribed seed round. In addition to SRI International, seed round investors include WERU Investment, First Spark Ventures, Airstream Venture Partners, Perot Jain, and Brandin Cooks.  Confidencial had previously raised a pre-seed round in April of 2021 with SRI International and MDSV.

After 12 months of development, Confidencial is launching a private beta product for a small community of business customers in June. Confidencial's early adopters are in numerous sectors including defense, financial services, life sciences, legal services, and sports and entertainment. To get early access to the private beta, visit www.confidencial.io. 

SRI International creates world-changing solutions making people safer, healthier and more productive. SRI, a research center headquartered in Menlo Park, California, works primarily in advanced technology and systems, biosciences, computing and education. SRI brings its innovations to the marketplace through technology licensing, spin-off ventures and new product solutions.

Confidencial is a Menlo Park, California-based provider of privacy enhancing technologies for securing sensitive information and collaboration for modern distributed enterprises. Its core technology, which integrates with existing business applications, was originally developed under Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programs. Its founding team is composed of leading business software executives and cybersecurity and cryptography experts. For more information, please visit www.confidencial.io.

Amanda Withers

Interdependence Public Relations

[email protected]  

(702) 412-8286

SOURCE SRI International